BONSALL VISITOR GUIDE
PLAN YOUR VISIT
Location: Off the A5012, Cromford to Buxton Road.
Terrain: Some moderately steep sections, but nothing too strenuous.
Visit: The Heights of Abraham, where you can take a spectacular journey by cable car to explore two show caverns, follow woodland trails and enjoy the magnificent view from the Treetops café and restaurant.
Refreshments: The Fountain Tea Rooms in the heart of the village. –Barley Mow Barley Mow, this friendly little pub stages the World Hen Racing Championship in August every year and has connections with UFOs – The Kings Head, established in 1677, a lovely old pub in the village centre.
Walk: Outstanding views over the Derwent Valley emerge after climbing Ember Lane. The walk passes The Heights of Abraham, from where cable cars approach from the Cable Car Station at Matlock Bath before returning. Across the valley is the spectacular High Tor, and behind that the village of Starkholmes. Distant glimpses can be had of Riber Castle, built by John Smedley as his retirement home.
The return journey to Bonsall is along the Limestone Way, before heading for Town Head and then turning off Bonsall’s main street up Stepping Lane. From this point, a gentle perambulation around the outskirts of the village takes place to enjoy the many fine views.
Special Places of Interest in the Locality: The Mining Museum and Temple Mine, where you get a very realistic impression of what the conditions used to be like for men who worked underground. After completing your absorbing tour of the museum, you can visit Temple Mine (opening times may differ). – Matlock Bridge started life as a packhorse crossing to replace the ford, where Dale Road was once considered one of the most elegant shopping streets in the East Midlands. To the rear are pleasant riverside walks and Hall Leys Park, which offers excellent recreational facilities for all ages. – Arkwright’s Cromford Mill, the world’s first successful water-powered cotton-spinning mill. It is now a world heritage site and museum, and guided tours are available. There are two cafés and several shops on site.
INTRODUCTION
Bonsall is a village full of surprises – not only does it have connections with UFOs, but every August in the pub car park of the Barley Mow, it holds the World Hen Racing Championships. Add to that Stepping Lane was resurfaced by German Prisoners of War in the 1940s, but that does not seem at all unusual when you learn that a skull was found, thought to be that of a mammoth, in a cave nearby. Oh yes, and millions of years ago, Ember Lane was the site of a volcano!
A former lead mining village that was once described by the Daily Mail as ‘the healthiest village in England,’ because of the long life spans of its inhabitants who were kept fit by climbing Bonsall’s long streets. From The Pig of Lead to the upper end of the village, it is a climb of 450 feet. The Pig of Lead public house at the foot of the Via Gellia valley closed several years ago and is now a private house.
Little groups of cottages huddle together on odd plots of land along winding streets to add to the charm of this attractive, scattered village. At the centre of the village is an interesting group of stone houses and the King’s Head. This delightful 17th-century inn stands opposite the much-photographed market cross with its slender circular shaft topped by a ball and surmounted by 13 steps.
THE CHURCH BULL RING
The old centre of the village was close to the church, where many ancient pathways met. An unusual feature of the Parish Church of St James is the presence of a bullring, referred to in a story from the Derbyshire Courier of 2 August 1834. In an article about bull baiting, it said, ‘At the Bonsall wakes on Monday last, thirty to forty men had gathered with dogs and clubs…. the worthy clergyman remonstrated with the men in vain…. finally, he purchased the release of the animal for one guinea!’ Apart from saving the bull, presumably the vicar’s purchase included the bullring itself, which, if this story is correct, accounts for its presence in the church.
WELL DRESSING
The first Carnival and Well Dressing took place in 1927, although there have been some breaks, notably during the Second World War. Wells are now regularly dressed, usually on the last Saturday in July. Flowers are very plentiful at that time, ‘only things that grow’ being the traditional rule for well dressing in the village.
VIA GELLIA
The road from Grangemill to Cromford was given the name Via Gellia by the Gell family, who had the road constructed to facilitate easier access from their lead mines to the smelter at Cromford. The trade name Viyella originated from the fabric that was produced at one of the seven textile mills set in the valley. The Via Gellia Mill is now home to several small businesses. From this point, the centre of the village is reached by the delightfully named Clatterway, built by the community to improve trading links, payment being in the form of strong ale.
THE DALE
At the foot of The Dale is The Fountain, a prominent local landmark. The Bonsall Brook that once provided the waterpower for the mills at Cromford flows alongside the road. Further up, past the Barley Mow, is the Wesleyan Reform Chapel, built in 1893.
FRAMEWORK KNITTING
There are several reminders in the village of its former prominence as a centre for framework knitting. It is estimated to have had over 140 frames at its peak. From the late 1700s, water-powered frames gradually took over the business, and by 1857, only seven workshops remained.
THE BARLEY MOW
Every August in the Barley Mow’s pub car park, the World Hen Racing Championships are held, where hundreds of spectators gather to watch hens race over a thirty-foot course with heats and a grand finale. In 1991, when the pub’s former landlord, Alan Webster, learned that villages would compete with each other to race hens in the early 20th century. He devised the event as a bit of fun for local people, but interest in the event soon spread far and wide. Following several sightings in the village of UFOs, enthusiasts from all over the world have visited Bonsall, and the former landlord of the Barley Mow used to conduct UFO walks every Bank Holiday Monday for interested parties.
TEN FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT BONSALL
1. Bonsall sprang to prominence at the start of the new millennium when a national newspaper proclaimed it as ‘the UFO capital of Britain.’ It followed numerous sightings and a video of UFOs over the village by sources considered sober and reliable.
2. But it was the six-and-a-half-minute video, shot by residents Sharon and Hayden Rowlands, that gave credibility to the UFO story. They were at home one night watching television when Sharon spotted a bright light in the sky and rushed outside with her camcorder to record the event. The press got hold of the story, and it even reached Los Angeles, where Fox Brothers reportedly acquired exclusive rights to the film.
3. The only well-known architect to have contributed to Bonsall was Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who designed Liverpool Cathedral, Battersea Power Station, Waterloo Bridge, and the telephone kiosk outside the Barley Mow – now a listed building! There are several other listed buildings in the village.
4. The 2024 Bonsall Arts Trail is a true community effort, celebrating creativity whilst strengthening local connections. A third trail in 2026, with over 80 artists planning to exhibit, demonstrates the popularity of the event.
5. Cascades Gardens, in beautiful natural surroundings, is open to the public on selected dates. The garden originates from the 18th century and surrounds the ruins of a former corn mill.
6. There is a market cross in the centre of the village that may date from the Middle Ages. Bonsall did apply for a market charter, but was unsuccessful.
7. The 13th-century St James the Apostle’s Church stands in a prominent position overlooking the village. Crowns and gargoyles surround the tower. Over the years, many additions and extensions have been made.
8. The Mount, in High Street, constructed of red brick brought in from outside the area, is unusual in a stone-built village. A doctor from Smedley’s Hydro in Matlock had it built.
9. The King’s Head was erected in 1677 by Anthony Abell and run by the same family until the 1890s.
10. In Victorian times, the landlord of the King’s Head was John Abell, who, apart from being the innkeeper, ran a grocery business behind the pub, brewed the beer and ran a farm with several acres of land and cowsheds on Yeoman Street.
BONSALL HEIGHTS OF ABRAHAM WALK
